The Sustainability Office is pleased to announce a refresh of the recycling program currently underway at the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD). This initiative, run in collaboration with SMD Environmental Services, is being implemented to improve recycling processes, reduce contamination, and ensure better waste management practices at SMD. The approach for improvement is multi-faceted, including new standard signage, training, monitoring, and follow-up with all key players. This project is being held as a pilot, and if successful, it will set the stage to implement similar practices in other areas of the Medical Center.
Many items used in everyday life and in the workplace are recyclable in Monroe County, including metal, glass, paper, cardboard, and several different shapes of plastic containers. However, various infrastructure factors, regulatory requirements, and changes from construction projects have made effective recycling challenging across the Medical Center. Contamination in recycling bins is also a problem, when well-intentioned end-users put non-recyclable items into the bins. With the SMD recycling refresh, the goal is to optimize the use of the present recycling infrastructure at SMD and the waste collection dock, as well as to improve consistency and accessibility for collecting all types of recyclables.
What should I know as an end-user?
There are strict rules to recycling, and many items that are typically thought to be recyclable are not. For example, Monroe County only recycles four shapes of plastic containers (i.e., bottles, jugs, jars, and tubs) and all other types of plastic are unacceptable. When non-recyclable items end up in a recycling container, that load of recycling becomes contaminated. The result is an ugly truth – the contents of that recycling stream, including items that were perfectly recyclable, become waste. To combat this, the SMD recycling refresh project aims not only to streamline waste management processes, but also to better educate all at SMD about what can and cannot be recycled.
This educational process kicked off with the placement of new and improved labels on individual recycling bins and the recycling compactor servicing SMD. The labels contain clear guidance on which items are accepted in the Cardboard & Paper bins and the Plastic, Metal & Glass bins.
The rollout of this new labeling system is the first step in an awareness campaign being undertaken by the Sustainability Office, spearheaded by Waste Minimization Specialist, Phil Piedmont. Piedmont is actively working to train all at SMD about their respective roles in making the recycling refresh project a success. This includes running departmental training sessions to teach users at SMD what can and cannot be recycled, how to properly prepare items for recycling, and the consequences of ‘wishcycling’ – or throwing waste items in the recycling bin in the hopes that they will be recycled.
Setting the stage for success
Training will also be provided to SMD Environmental Services staff as well as Waste Strategies staff, who manage the Medical Center’s waste dock. Behind the scenes, these groups will be doing their part to keep recycling up and running properly. They will be checking for contamination, working in compliance with revamped procedures, and providing observations during their usual audits to the Sustainability Office to ensure that challenges are addressed promptly and efficiently.
To make this project a success, Piedmont says that everyone’s participation is needed.
“Here’s the opportunity we’ve been waiting for,” says Piedmont. “It’s up to the departmental users, SMD Environmental Services, and our Waste Strategies contractors who manage the dock to make this a success. If they don’t follow guidelines with training and recommendations, recycling will keep going to the trash, and that’s unfortunate. Recycling starts with you!”
Piedmont is excited to teach recycling culture by doing, and he encourages everyone at SMD from departmental users to waste management staff to participate in his upcoming training sessions.
The Sustainability Office encourages those working at SMD to print, post, and share the recycling guidance with their departments and encourage all to follow recycling guidelines.
To schedule training in your department or for questions about the SMD recycling refresh, please contact Phil Piedmont at ppiedmon@facilities.rochester.edu or the Sustainability Office.
